"Carbon atoms lead active lives, as [Eric] Roston's investigation into their ubiquitous presence attests. Created by nuclear fusion in stars, strewn through space by supernovas, and collecting on earth as a critical element of life, carbon also exercises a variety of roles in technology.... A science journalist, Roston mediates technicalities well for a general-interest reader, impressing in particular how carbon cycles geochemically and biochemically through earth's natural processes, and how the current increase of carbon dioxide is accelerating the atmospheric cycle. If atomic number 6 could ever write its autobiography, the result might resemble Roston's engaging presentation."—Booklist